Shock-absorber.



E. DAMME.

SHOCK ABSORBER.

APPLICATION FILED 0:0.3. m1.

Patented Aug. (3191a WITNESSES ATTORN EY EDWARD DAMME, or BATTLE CREEK,MICHIGAN.

SHOCK-ABSORBER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 6, 1918.

Continuation in part of application Serial No. 150,714, filed February24, 1917. This application filed December 3, 1917. Serial No. 205,085.

.Battle Creek, in the county of Calhoun and State of Michigan, haveinvented a new and useful Shock-Absorber, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relatcsto shock absorbers for vehicles, such as carriagesand motor vehicles, and is a continuation in part of my application forshock absorber, filed Feb. 24, 1917, Serial No..150,714.

The object is to provide a device of this character, in which resilientmeans are interposed in the connection between the axle and the body ofthe vehicle, which means may be used in conjunction with the ordinarysemi-elliptical leaf spring commonly employed in vehicle construction,or in lieu thereof, thereby preventing the tossing of the vehicle bodyand the jarring of the passengers or occupants of the vehicle, whiletraveling over rough or uneven roads.

Another object of the invention is to provide an attachment which can beeasily applied to any semi-elliptical spring, or to any standard vehiclenow in use, without changes, or with such slight modifications as wouldbe within the skill of any ordinary mechanic.

A full and complete understanding of the invention will be obtained froma consideration of the following detailed description,

taken in connection with the accompanying drawing forming part of thisspecification; it being understood that while the drawing shows apractical form of the invention, the latter. is not confined to strictconformity therewith, but may be changed or modified, so long as suchchanges or n'lodifications mark no material departure from the salientfeatures of the invention, as specifically pointed out in the claimsappended hereto.

In the drawing, in which like reference numerals designate correspondingparts in each of the several figures Figure 1 is a side elevation of theimproved shock absorber shown applied to a frame member of anautomobile;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing parts in section;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line 33 of Fig. 2; 1

Fig. 4 is a plan view of one of the lovers, forming part of theinvention;

Fig. 5 is an elevation, partly in section, of a somewhat modified formof the invention and shown applied to an ordinary vehicle spring, thisform being a duplicate of the disclosure in my former application.

The device comprises a longitudinally disposed member 1 made from asuitable metal cast into proper shape to form a cross member adapted torest at its center upon and be secured to the front or rear axle of thevehicle (not shown). Four of the devices will be used on the motorvehicle, two at each side.

The cross bar 1 has its ends preferably rising somewhat from the bodythereof, as indicated at 2, and tern'iinating'in eyes 3 for a purpose tobe described. At intermediate points between the center of the cross bar1 and the terminal eyes 3, housings 4 are provided whose axes extendsubstantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the cross bar 1and are preferably formed integral with said bar by being casttherewith.

The housings 4 are closed at their upper ends by walls 5 extending inopposite directions from the central body portion of the cross bar 1 andterminating substantially over the terminal eyes 3. The side walls ofthe housings 4 are substantially parallel and opposed walls 7, asclearly illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

The cross bar 1 is arranged, as illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive,parallel with and directly beneath the member 8 of an ordinaryautomobile frame structure, and is pivotally connected therewith throughthe medium of levers 9 in the manner to be described.

The levers 9 are formed of suitable metal sufficiently strong towithstand the strain to I which they are subjected, and are preferablyin the form of compound curves havhousings 4 and between the side wallsthereof. The upper ends of the levers 9 are each provided with suitableeyes'13 for the reception of bolts 11, which pivotally connect the sameto the frame member 8; One lever 9 constituting the front lever isdirectly pivoted to the said frame member 8, while the opposite lever 9,constituting the rear lever, is preferably connectedto the lower ends ofa link or links 15, which in turn are suitably pivoted at their upperends to the underside of the frame member 8, as indicated at 16, for apurpose to be explained. Upper and lower transversely disposed pins orbars 17 and 18 respectively traverse the longitudinal slots 6 in theopposite side walls of the'housings4. The lower transverse pins 18normally rest upon the inwardly directed lower ends 12 of the levers 9and are adapted to be actuated thereby;

Expansion springs 19 are located within the housings 4 and between theupper and lower transverse pins 17 and 18, and have a normal tendency toforce the same apart, thus causing the lower inner ends of the levers 9to be forced away from the longitudinal axis of the cross bar 1. I

The inwardly directed ends 12 of the levers 9 are provided withlongitudinal slots 20. The latter are traversed by rods 21', which passthrough the coils of the expansion springs 19, and are provided at theiru}pper ends with hooks 22 adapted to engage t e opposite ends for thereception of nuts 23 having washers interposed between them and thelower faces of the terminals 12..

The rods 21, by traversing the coiled springs 19 and engaging the upperpins 17 prevent the said springs from displacement out of the housings1, and it Will' be seen that by adjusting thenuts 23 uponthe said rods,the tension upon the said springs may be varied'at will. v The upper andlower pins constitute. movable abutments, the upper .pins being heldstationary while the lower pins move and vice versa.,.

The top walls 5 of the housings 4 are bored and threaded for thereception of adjusting screws 24: located in alinement with thevertically disposed slots 6, and consequently in a position to bear uponthe upper transverse pins 17, by which additional means are provided forincreasing or decreasing the expansive force of the springs 19.

, connection with the top abutments 17, and

the lower ends of the levers 9 bearing lee-- neath the movable abutments18, it will be seen that a double action upon the springs 1 is securedby reason of the fact that, when the lower ends of the levers 9 approachthe walls 5,-thesprings 19 willbe compressed through the movableabutments 18 at their In this figure, the member 25,

upper pins 17, and are threaded at their become the movable abutments,while the lower ins .18, then resting in the adjacent ends 0 the slots6, become the top abutments, so that the springs '19 are againcompressed, thus serving to cushion the device upon either movement ofthe levers 9.

In Fig. 5 of the drawings, there is illustrated a somewhat simplifiedform of the invention, which constituted the subject matter of theapplication previously referred to. which is the equivalent of the crossbar 1, has its terminals slightly inclined and provided witheyes 26 towhich are pivoted the levers 27 having their upper or outer terminalspivotally connected as at 28 to an ordinary semi-elliptical vehiclespring 29, and their lower ends bearing upon pins 30 constitutingmovable abutments, which traverse slots 31 formed in housings 32, andhaving coiled expansion springs 33 interposed between the said pins 30,and the upper closed ends of the housings 32. In this last-mentionedform of the device, the link 15 is dispensed with, and the levers,asstated, are directly connected to the ends of the spring 29. This ismade possible by reason of the fact that when the spring 29 is subjectedto a load and caused to straighten out, the distance between theterminal pivots 28 is increased, which compensates for the arcuatemovement of the upper ends of the levers 27 In the first described. formof the invention, however,

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the invention'provides aconstruction which is simple, and comprises a minimum number of partswhich cannot be easily disarranged or brok'einand in which friction isreduced to a minimum. The invention is applicable to leaf springs or anequivalent I thereof, which are arranged either longitudinally of thevehicle or transversely thereof, and by arranging the coiled springs inthe manner shown and described, the levers exert a thrust thereon in adirection substantially coincident with their axes, and thereby vpreventthe distortion of the same.

- While I have shown anddescribed one embodiment of my invention, it isto be under stood that I do not desire to be limited to the details ofconstruction herein shown and described, for obviousmodifications willbe apparent to one skilled in the art.

ism

The shock absorber may be secured either to the underside of the axle orupon the same, and in either case clips will be used to fasten the crossbar at its center to the axle.

What is claimed is 1. A shock absorber comprising relatively movable,superposed members, substantially vertically disposed housings carriedby one of the members, substantially vertieally disposed coiled springsmounted within said housings, said housings being open at their lowerends, and levers, each pivoted at an intermediate pointto one of theends of that member having the housings thereon, for rocking movement,and pivotally connected at one end to the other member, andactive at theother end against one of the coiled springs, the last mentioned endworkin within the lower end of the adjacent houslng.

2. A shock absorber comprising relatively movable u per and lowermembers, the lower mem er having substantially vertically disposedhousings and having spaced substantially parallel sides and open lowerends, springs mounted within the housings, and rocking levers pivotedintermediate their ends to the ends of the member having the housingsand also pivotally connected to the upper member,- the levers beingengaged at one of their ends in the open lower ends between the sides ofthe housings and working against the spring therein, the spacing of thehousings enabling the lower member to be fastened to an axle.

3. The combination with a member adapted to be attached to the body of avehicle, of a cross bar, said parts being in superposed relation,substantially vertically disposed housings mounted upon said cross barand having their lower ends open, substantially vertically disposedcoiled springs mounted within said housings, movable abutments'retaining said coiled springs within the housings, and levers pivoted tosaid cross bar, connected to the said firstmentioned member and havingtheir inner ends inserted within the open ends of the housings andengaging said movable abutments.

4. The combination with a member adapted to be attached to the body of avehicle, of a cross bar, said member and said cross bar being arrangedin superposed relation, substantially vertically disposed housings fixedto said cross bar at the opposite ends thereof and spaced apart and openat their lower ends, substantially vertically disposed coiled springsarranged in said housings, said housings being provided with verticallyextending slots, slidable and rotatable pins mounted in said slots andconstituting movable abutments and retaining Said springs within thehousings, and levers pivoted to said cross bar, attached at their outerends to said member, and engaging said pins at their inner ends whichwork within the lower open ends of the housings.

5. The combination with a member adapted to be attached to the body of avehicle, of a cross bar, said member and said cross bar being arrangedin superposed relation, substantially vertically disposed housingsmounted upon said cross bar at the opposite ends thereof and havingspaced sides and open at the bottom, substantially vertically disposedcoiled 5 rings interposed within said housings, movalile abutments forretaining said coiled springs within the housings, and levers pivoted tosaid cross bar intermediate their ends and connected at their outer endsto said member, the inner ends of said levers extending into the openbottoms of the housings and riding between the sides of said housingsand engaging said movable abutments to compress the coiled springs.

6. The combination with a member adapted to be attached to the body of avehicle, of a cross bar, said member and said. cross bar being arrangedin vertical alinement, substantially vertically disposed housingsextending from said cross bar and having spaced sides and open at thebottom, coiled springs mounted within said housings, said coiled springsbeing substantially vertical, the sides of said housings being providedwith vertically extending slots, pins slidably and rotatably mountedwithin said slots and constituting movable abutments retaining thecoiled springs in place, and levers pivoted intermediate their ends tothe ends of said cross bar, the inner arms of said levers extending'intothe open bottoms of the housings and riding between said spaced sidesand having their inner ends engaging said pins, the outer arms -of saidlevers being pivotally connected to the first mentioned member, wherebyas the said member approaches the said cross bar the coiled springs willbe compressed.

7 The combination with a member adapted to be attached to the body of avehicle, of a cross bar, said member and said cross bar being insuperposed relation, substantially vertically disposed housings fixed tothe cross bar and extending'therefrom and having spaced sides and openlower ends, rocking levers pivoted intermediate their ends to the endsof the cross bar and also pivoted to the said member, the levers havingtheir inner ends inserted in the open ends and working between the sidesof the housings and working against the springs therein, and slidablemeans mounted in the housings and interposed between the springs thereinand the end portions of the levers.

8. The combination with a vehicle frame member. of a cross bar arrangedin longitudinal and. vertical alinement therewith and in spaced relationbeneath the same.- vertically disposed housings carried by the crossbar. said housings being open at their lower ends and closed at'theirupper ends and having vertical slots in their sides. levers.intermediately pivoted to the ends of the cross bar beyond the'housingsand having their outer ends pivotally connected to the frame member. andtheir inner ends extending into the housings, ins traversing the upperportions of the sai slots and constituting top movable abutments; screwscar-- ried by the closed ends of the housings and adapted to bear onsaid pins for adjusting the same. other pins traversing the -lowerportions of the slots and bearing on the inwardly directed ends of thelevers and con stituting bottom movable abutments, and coiled springsmounted in the. housings between the upper and lower pins and having anormal tendency to separate the same. a

9. The combination with a vehicle frame member. of across har arrangedin vertical and longitudinal alinement therewith. ver ticallv disposedhousings provided on the cross bar adjacent to its ends. and havingvertical slots in their walls. levers intermediatelv pivoted to the endsof the cross bar and pivota'llv connected at their outer ends. one leverto the end of the frame member. and the other lever having a link connection to an intermediate point of said member. said levers havingtheir inner ends extending into the housings and rovided withlongitudinal slots. upper adjustable pins traversing'the slots in thehousings. lower pins also traversingsaid slots and bearing upon thelower ends of the levers; coiled expansion springs mounted in thehousings between the upper and lowerpins. and rods hooked to the upperpins and pass ,ing through the sprin s and through the slots in the endsof the levers. and nuts threaded on the lower ends of the rods andengaging the levers for causing a double action on thesprings.

10. A shock absorber comprising relatively movable superposed members.housings carried by one ot the memhers.coiled springs mounted within.said housings. and levers each pivoted at an intermediate point to oneof the ends of that member having the housings thereon. and pivotallvcon nected at one end to theother, member. and active at the other endagainst one of the coiled springs. the lastancntioned end working withinthe adjacent housing. and means connecting the housed ends of the leverswith thesprings whereby hot-h springs are emma 1 compressed in the samedirection by both motions of thelevers.

11. The combination with a vehicle frame member, of a cross bar arrangedin longitudinal and vertical alinement therewith and in spaced relationbeneath the same. substantially vertically disposed housings car ried bythe cross bar in spaced relation to each other. said housings being openat their lower ends and closed attheir upper ends and having verticalslots in their sides, levers intermediatel; pivoted to the ends of thecross bar beyond the housings and having their ends pivotally connectedto the frame member and their inner ends extending into the lower openends of the housings. pins traversing the upper portions of said slotsand constituting top movable abutments, screws carried by theclosed endsof the housings and adapted to bear on said pins for adjusting the same,other pins traversing the lower portions of the slots. and bearing ontheinwardly directed ends of the levers and constituting bottom movableabutments, coiled springs mounted in thehousings. between the upper andlower pins. and having a normal tendency to separate'the same. and rodshooked to the upper pins and. passing through the springs and. connectedto the inner ends of said levers. whereby the spring is compressed inboth of the up and down movements of the levers.

12. The combination with a vehicle frame member. of a cross bar arrangedin'vertical and longitudinal alinement therewith. substantiallyvertically disposed housings providedv on the cross bar adjacent to itsends and having vertical slots in their. walls. levers intermediatelvpivoted to the ends of the cross bar and ivotall v connected at theirouter ends to t e frame member, said levers having their inner endsextending into the housings. upper pins traversing the slots in thehousings. lower pins also travers ing said slots and hearing upon thelower ends of the levers, coiled springs mounted in the housings betweenthe upper and lower pins. rods hooked to the upper pins and passingthrough the springs and through the ends of the levers. and meansconnecting the lower ends of the rods to the levers wherehv thespringsare compressed in both movements of the levers.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto attiredmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

0. A. Barren,

B. Gmson.

